Expandable organizer

ABSTRACT

An expandable organizer, such as an organizer for storing materials in a drawer, is disclosed. The organizer has two outside compartments and an inside compartment. The outside compartments are divided into a plurality of sub-compartments for storing a plurality of articles. The inside compartment is positioned between the two outside compartments, and retains the outside compartments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention is directed to an expandable organizer, such as an organizer for storing materials in a drawer. In a first implementation, the organizer has two outside compartments and an inside compartment. The outside compartments are divided into a plurality of sub-compartments for storing a plurality of articles. The inside compartment is positioned between the two outside compartments, and retains the outside compartments. The outside compartments may be pulled away from one another to form an additional area for storing articles within the inside compartment. This additional area is formed from the inside compartment, and may include a divider so that it forms two or more areas for storing articles.

DRAWINGS

[0002] The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the figures, in which:

[0003]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a first implementation of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration.

[0004]FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a first implementation of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration.

[0005]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration.

[0006]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration.

[0007]FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a second implementation of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration.

[0008]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration.

[0009]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration.

[0010]FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration.

[0011]FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration.

DESCRIPTION

[0012] The present invention is directed to an expandable organizer, such as an organizer for storing materials in a drawer. The organizer is configured to allow it to expand to fill a drawer, and provides enhanced storage and organization of the drawer. The organizer can be used to store a variety of items, such as office supplies, tools, coins, jewelry, etc. The organizer is typically produced from plastic, and can be formed using an injection mold, a thermoforming mold, or other fabrication method.

[0013] In a first implementation, the organizer has two outside compartments and an inside compartment. The outside compartments are divided into a plurality of subcompartments for storing a plurality of articles. These articles are typically of varying sizes and shapes. In a preferred implementation, the two outside compartments are identical to one another, and thus may be made using a single mold.

[0014] The inside compartment is positioned between the two outside compartments, and preferably retains the outside compartments, typically by using tabs to retain the piece together. The outside compartments may be pulled away from one another to form an additional storage area for retaining articles between them (in the inside compartment). When the inside storage area includes a divider, the size of the inside storage areas can be altered by moving the inside compartment with respect to the outside compartments.

[0015] The invention is further understood by reference to the figures. FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of a first implementation of an expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration. Organizer 10 includes outside compartments 12, 14, and inside compartment 16 (a small piece of which is shown in FIG. 1). In addition, each of the outside compartments 12, 14 is subdivided into multiple areas for storing articles. Note that in the implementation shown, the multiple areas have different shapes and sizes, although they are optionally all the same size and shape. Optionally, the two identical pieces show an asymmetry when attached to the inside compartment (as shown in FIG. 1).

[0016]FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of a first implementation of an expandable organizer constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration. Inside compartment 16 is shown, and has a divider 18 that segregates the inside compartment into first and second storage areas 20, 22. Note that the storage areas 20, 22 may be increased or decreased in size by moving the outside compartments toward or away from each other. Also, the two storage areas 20, 22 may by changed in size so that one is larger than the other (by contracting one of the outside compartments more than the other). The organizer can be arranged so that just one of the inside areas (20 or 22) is displayed.

[0017]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing organizer 10 in a contracted configuration. FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer 10 in an expanded configuration.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a second implementation of an expandable organizer 24 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer 24 in an expanded configuration. The organizer 24 has two outside compartments 26, 28, and an inside compartment 30. Inside compartment 30 does not include a divider in this implementation.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in a contracted configuration. FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration. FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of an expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer 10 in a contracted configuration. FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of an expandable organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the organizer in an expanded configuration. 

We claim:
 1. An organizer for organizing a plurality of articles, the organizer comprising: a first outside compartment, the outside compartment divided into a plurality of subcompartments for storing articles; a second outside compartment, the outside compartment divided into a plurality of sub-compartments for storing articles; and a central compartment retaining the first and second compartments; wherein the first and second outside compartments may expanded away from each other to form a storage area in the central compartment.
 2. The organizer according to claim 1, wherein the first and second outside compartments are identical.
 3. The organizer according to claim 1, wherein the central compartment includes a divider. 